Case 74. Mummy of a Græco-Egyptian youth, whose portrait is placed on the head, painted on cedar.

Case 75. Mummy and coffin of a Græco-Egyptian girl, named Tphous, daughter of Heraclius Soter; on the coffin is a Greek inscription, recording her death in the 11th year of Hadrian, A.D. 127.

Case 103. Sarcophagus of Mentuhetp, a functionary of about the 11th dynasty.

Case 104. Sarcophagus of Amam, an officer under one of the older dynasties. Two

Cases (A) 77, (B) 90, and (C) 105, in the centre of the room. large wooden coffins of the Roman period. One is that of Cleopatra, of the family of Soter, the other of Soter himself, an archon of Thebes, in the reign of Trajan; and the outer, inner case, and mummy of a female named Shepshet, about B.C. 700.

In the upper part of the Cases just mentioned are placed personal ornaments, amulets, and scarabæi, chiefly found with the mummies. The scarabaei frequently bear the names of kings, showing probably that the persons interred had borne office under those monarchs. The most remarkable are some small scarabæi in Division 95, with the names of Cheops and Chephren, the kings who built the Great and the Second pyramids, and several large scarabæi of the reign of Amenophis III.; one (No. 4095) recording the number of lions slain by the king within a certain period; the other (No. 4096) relating to his marriage with Queen Taia, and the extent of his dominions.

Returning to the Wall Cases, we find mummies of sacred animals as follows:-Cases 52, 53. Mummies of cynocephali, jackals, and cats. Cases 54, 55. Mummies of sacred bulls and of rams, the head and principal bones only embalmed. Cases 56, 57. Mummies of the Ibis, sacred to Thoth; and specimens of the conical, covered pots in which they were deposited. Case 58. Mummies of crocodiles, emblems of Sebak, and of snakes, emblems of Isis. Case 60. Mummies of snakes and fish.

In Cases 61, 62, are specimens of unburnt bricks, some stamped with the names of kings of the 18th and 19th dynasties.

Cases 63, 64. Fragments of mummy-coffins and sepulchral tablets. Over the Cases on the East and West sides of the room are placed casts from sculptured and painted bas-reliefs at the entrance of the small temple of Beit-Oually in Nubia. One represents the victories of Rameses II. over the Æthiopians; the other the victories of the same monarch over some Asiatic nations.

SECOND EGYPTIAN ROOM.

The Egyptian antiquities are placed on the East side, the other being at present occupied by the Slade and other Collections of Glass, Roman and Etruscan Pottery, &c.

EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES.

These are further illustrations of the Sepulchral remains of Egypt, of which the larger portion is placed in the First Egyptian Room.

Cases 1-11. Sepulchral tablets of painted wood, small models of sarcophagi and mummies, and boxes for holding sepulchral figures, as well as a large collection of the figures themselves. The latter are formed of wood, alabaster, stone, or porcelain, and have inscribed upon them a religious formula, as well as the name and titles of the deceased. They are supposed to have been deposited in the tombs by the relatives of the person who was buried. Some of the figures in the collection bear the names of Seti I., Amenophis III., and other kings.

Cases 12, 13. Sets of sepulchral vases, four in number, in which were placed the viscera of the dead, divided into four portions, and separately embalmed; their covers are heads of the Genii of the Amenti, to whom the respective portions were dedicated.

Cases 14-19. Wooden coffins, elaborately ornamented, and a wooden case painted black and yellow, which contained a set of vases.

Cases 20-23. Sepulchral vases similar to those already described. Cases 24-30. Wooden figures of Ptah Socharis, and Osiris Pethempamentes, made hollow to enclose the papyri deposited in the tombs.

Cases 31, 32. Cones or bricks stamped with inscriptions, containing the names of functionaries, and which probably formed part of the construction of the tombs. A hydria, or water-vase of alabaster, from Alexandria, lamps and vases.

In Table Case A are various objects in porcelain and glass, principally from the coverings of mummies, and inscriptions traced on stone, porcelain, and wood.

In Table Case B are portions of the outer coverings of mummies, and objects of the Greek and Roman period: amongst them are receipts for taxes.

In Table Case C are objects found in Egypt of the Christian period; Christian inscriptions; some specimens of beaded work; bronze plates, with Himyaritic inscriptions, from Arabia; some objects from Bethlehem and Mount Sinai; and Gnostic amulets.

In Table Case D are various specimens of tiles from Tel el Yahoudeh or Onias, with the name and titles of Rameses III., Asiatic and negro prisoners, and other subjects.

In Table Case E are specimens of Egyptian glass: amongst them vases in brilliant colours resembling the specimens discovered in Greece and Italy.

In the detached Cases 101, 102 are sepulchral boxes, tablets, and models of boats. S. BIRCH:

GLASS COLLECTIONS.

On the West side are placed the collections of ancient and more recent Glass, including the very valuable collection

bequeathed to the British Museum in 1868 by the late Felix Slade, Esq. This collection is for the present exhibited to a great extent in a separate series, as an acknowledgment of so munificent a bequest.

It has been thought convenient to collect into the same room the other collections of Glass in the Museum, excepting the Assyrian. It has not, however, been found practicable to arrange the collections in any chronological order.

It may be sufficient to state, that the Antique Glass from the Slade Collection is placed in Table Case F, and the Upright Central Case L; that from the Temple Collection in Wall Case 54, 55; that from the General Collection in Table Case H, and Wall Cases 56-61, excepting the Roman and Anglo-Saxon Glass found in England, which will be found in Wall Case 52, 53.

The Oriental Glass, which is chiefly from the Slade Collection, occupies Wall Case 44, 45. The Venetian Glass from the Slade Collection is placed in Central Case G, and Wall Cases 46-51; that from the General Collection in Wall Case 42, 43. The French, German, Dutch, and Spanish Glass is placed in Central Case K.

The Egyptians, if not the inventors of making glass, were great workers in that substance, and applied a vitreous coating to pottery, and even stone. The Egyptian specimens in the Slade Collection are not so numerous as those in the Egyptian Collection (Table Case E in the same room), but include an elegant vase (No. 14) in the form of a papyrus sceptre, made for holding the antimony or stibium to be applied to the eyelids, and a very remarkable amulet (Case F) with the prenomen of Nuantef IV., a monarch of the XIth dynasty, placed by Lepsius between B.C. 2423 and 2380.

The glass works of Egypt must have been in full operation under the Ptolemies; and during the Roman dominion they produced very elaborate specimens, especially minute mosaic patterns, of which there are good examples (No. 92, &c.). These were made by arranging in the required patterns a number of slender rods of glass of various colours, fusing them together, and then drawing them out, so as to reduce the whole uniformly; transverse sections of the rod thus obtained would each exhibit the same pattern.

To the Phoenicians may in all probability be referred the numerous little vases of brilliant colours which are found in tombs throughout the borders of the Mediterranean (Table Cases F and H). They exhibit everywhere the same technical peculiarities, and as they differ somewhat in form and make from unquestionably Egyptian specimens,

it is probable that they are the products of the only other great centre of glass making, the celebrated works at Sidon. The forms are more Greek than Egyptian, frequently alabastra, amphora, and præfericula

The colouring is striking, generally in zigzag patterns of yellow, turquoise, or white, relieved by blue, brown, or green grounds. There are many fine vases of this kind in the collection, as well as one of the gold stands made to support them (No. 10).

To a later period of the Sidonian workshops may probably be referred a number of small bottles of various forms, blown in moulds, and which have been chiefly found in Syria, and the neighbouring islands. The specimens are in the shapes of dates, grapes, heads, &c. A handle, once forming part of a small cup, is stamped with the name of its maker, Artas the Sidonian, in Greek and Latin letters.

The making of glass at Rome is said to have been introduced by Egyptian workmen, and must have been much practised there, as specimens of Roman glass are very numerous. The material was

applied to a great number of uses, and the processes seem to have been quite as varied and well understood as in later times. The common clear glass has generally a greenish or bluish hue, though sometimes it is as white and brilliant as rock crystal; this latter kind was much valued by the Romans; the other transparent colours are, generally, various shades of blue, purple, yellow, and green. A delicate pink is supposed to derive its colour from gold. The opaque colours are less commonly employed singly, but they occur in shades of yellow, blue, green, and black. The beautiful iridescence with which many vases are covered is not intentionally produced, but is the effect of time, which has partially decomposed the surface of the glass.

The simpler vases are only blown, with handles, feet, or ornamental fillets subsequently added; others are blown into moulds, and exhibit various designs in relief; some of the bowls have projecting ribs, and have been termed pillar-moulded. (No. 203). On some vessels, chiefly belonging to a late period, shallow engraving, executed on the wheel, has been added; others are cut in regular patterns (see 171 and 321). Sometimes a coloured grouud was coated with white opaque glass, which was afterwards cut away, so as to produce a cameo, as in the celebrated Portland Vase, exhibited in the Ornament Room, and in the Auldjo Vase (Case 58). In other instances, a number of dif ferent colours were employed, sometimes, as in the Egyptian specimens above noticed, forming regular mosaic designs, sometimes blended into a mass of scrolls, rosettes, &c., and at others imitating onyx, agate, madrepore marble, or porphyries and other hard stones, though generally in more brilliant colours. Of these designs the variety is inconceivable, as may be seen by two bowls (Nos. 86, 387,) and numerous polished fragments. Occasionally gold-leaf was introduced, and at a late time the insides of cups and shallow bowls were decorated with patterns in gold-leaf, sometimes on the surface, sometimes enclosed between two layers of glass. To this class belong the fragments with Christian designs found in the catacombs of Rome (Case H), as well as the remains of a large disc from Cologne (No. 317), on which, though much broken,

eight Christian subjects may be distinguished. The mosaic glass, and especially that imitating various stones, was much used to line the walls, or to form the pavements of rooms. Very clever imitations of gems were made, and the glass intaglios and cameos have preserved to us designs of some of the greatest gem engravers; being generally moulded from gems, and not themselves engraved.

After the fall of the Roman empire the glass works of the West must have gone to decay; of glass of the Anglo-Saxon period there are in the Slade Collection only three specimens, a tumbler with a convex base, from Selzen (No. 319), and two cups found in Kent. Those from the General Collection (Case 52, 53) are more numerous. In the East, glass making was still continued, probably in the neighbourhood of Damascus. There are in the collection some very fine specimens, all decorated with enamel and gilding (Case 44, 45). Two lamps from mosques, made, according to the inscriptions, for Seifeddin Takuzdemur, Viceroy of Egypt, A.D. 1341, and Governor of Damascus in 1343, who died at Cairo in 1345. A third lamp was made for the Emir Skeykhoo, who died in 1356. There are likewise two fine bottles. To a later period belong some Persian specimens (Nos. 341-3), and a few Chinese; two of the latter bear the name of the Emperor Kienlung, 1736-96.

The earliest known specimens of Venetian glass are of the fifteenth century. The earlier examples seem to have the forms of silver plate, and are frequently massive, and richly gilt and enamelled. One of the largest examples in the collection is a covered standing cup, with gilt ribs (No. 362). Two of the earliest, and also most elaborate specimens, are a green goblet with portraits (No. 361), and a blue cup with a triumph of Venus (No. 363). The shallow ribbed bowls, or dishes, are very handsome, and have frequently coats of arms in the centre; on one of them (No. 371) are the arms of the Doge Lorenzo Loredano, 1501-21, another (No. 372) has those of Leo X., 151321; a third (No. 374), those of Fabrizio Caretto, Grand Master of the Order of St. John, 1513-21.

The vases of blown glass are frequently very elegant, especially those in uncoloured glass; the stems are very often decorated with knots, wings, and fantastic additions in blue glass. Vases were also made entirely or partially of coloured glass, generally blue, purple, or green; sometimes a milky opalescent colour was produced, due, it is said, to arsenic; also an opaque white, derived probably from tin, which is further diversified with splashes of other colours. Another kind of variegated glass, which was called calcedonio, exhibits the streaky hues of the onyx, and was occasionally sprinkled with avanturine spots.

Great use was also made by the Venetians of rods of glass enclosing threads of opaque white glass (laticinio), arranged in various patterns. Thus was produced the elegant lace glass (Vetro di trina) in which Venice was unrivalled. Another variety (à reticelli) is ornamented with a network of opaque white lines, enclosing at the intersections bubbles of air. A goblet of this kind (No. 682) hás in the foot a half